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'Drive High, Get a DUI': Law enforcement looking for drugged drivers on 4/20

Posted: 12:01 PM, Apr 16, 2019

Updated:2019-04-16 13:15:20-04

By:
Scripps National

As more states legalize marijuana, more law enforcement efforts are put in place to keep high drivers off the roadways.

The State of Missouri is one that is cracking down on people driving after using pot. The Missouri Department of Transportation announced this week it will have a blitz on April 19-20.

Those dates have been chosen because the number 420 is a code used by cannabis enthusiasts who celebrate the drug on April 20. In 2018, MoDOT reported 78 people were killed and 142 seriously injured in traffic crashes with at least one-drug impaired driver.

MoDOT has asked that people
seek a designated, sober driver if they plan to smoke or use pot products, and alcohol or any other mind-altering substances. "Drive High, Get a DUI," MoDOT says.

It is also asking people to put down mobile phones while driving.

According to the Highway Safety Association, 37 states and the District of Columbia routinely conduct sobriety checkpoints. The legality of checkpoints is upheld under the federal Constitution.

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